Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of UAE real estate giant Emaar, is considering building a Downtown project in Riyadh, following the success of a similar development in Dubai.

In an interview with Arabian Business, Alabbar said a site has already been identified for the project. “I’m looking at Saudi Arabia. It’s an interesting site. In Riyadh. [It would be] exactly the same size as Dubai,” he said, without giving details of where and when the possible project could be completed.

Alabbar added that on top of ongoing overseas projects in Cairo, the company is also examining the Turkish and Iraqi markets. “I think Turkey looks quite interesting for us. And definitely, though a smaller size, but Erbil (in Iraqi Kurdistan), is looking good.”

Emaar has undergone a resurgence in the past year with its share price rising by more than 80 percent.

The 2012 results showed an 18 percent rise in net profits to US$577m from US$2.24bn of revenue.

The shopping malls and retail side of the business accounted for US$740m in revenue last year – a 27 percent increase on the previous year.